Chapter 230
230 A Pulse Bencath the Ice
She couldn’t stop thinking about the way his back had moved when he breathed–those steady , rhythmic contractions of muscle, like some secret tempo now replaying on a loop in her mind. The heat rose to the tips of her ears.
“There’s something inside the wound,” she murmured, forcing herself to focus. Her fingertip lightly tapped the lash where black threads had begun to seep from beneath the skin.
“This isn’t a normal injury. Someone laced it–used something to stop it from healing. It’s still corroding the blood vessels.”
Jasper didn’t even flinch.
Not a flicker of surprise crossed his face.
“You already suspected this,” she said slowly, “or maybe you already knew?”
Scarlett bit her lip, fingers unconsciously tightening around the hem of her shirt. The air was thick with the scent of antiseptic.
Jasper released her wrist with deliberate ease. “Just the usual tricks. Can you treat it?”
“I’ll try,” she said quietly, pointing toward his back. “That’s all I can promise.”
“That’s enough.”
He turned again, presenting his back to her once more.
The sheer perfection of the lines carved across his shoulders and spine hit her like a second blow.
As she leaned closer, she caught the faint scent of cedar on his skin, tinged with the metallic sharpness of blood. It reminded her of the searing heat she’d felt beneath her fingers earlier–alive and dangerous, like fire wrapped in ice. Something you should avoid, but couldn’t help leaning toward. Just to see what might burn beneath the surface.
The moment her tweezers clamped onto one of the black threads, Jasper’s body tensed violently. A low, stifled groan broke from his throat.
Scarlett instinctively pressed her hand to his shoulder. The muscle beneath her palm felt like stone, clenched tight–but it eased slightly under her touch. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ (F)indNƟvᴇl.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access s of novels early and in the highest quality.
It felt like trust.
Or maybe it was something else entirely. Deliberate. Allowed.
And she realized then–this man, feared and formidable in the eyes of so many, was baring the most vulnerable part of himself to her without hesitation. He was letting her see the wound. Letting her near it.
Letting her decide what to do with it.
“It’s done.”
She didn’t know how long it had taken, but when the last thread was pulled free, she found sweat beading at her temple.
11:50 Sat , 16 Aug 16
230 A Pulse Beneath the Ice
But she was no stranger to pain. She’d suffered enough during her time with the Joyner family and endured the cruelty of bullying in med school. Her strength had been forged in fire.
It was the only reason she could hold back the storm inside her now.
As she wiped the wound clean with saline, Jasper glanced over his shoulder.
His gaze locked on her hands, on every motion she made.
Unblinking.
The air felt heavier somehow, thick and warm. Rain tapped softly at the windows, and the amber light stretched their shadows long across the floor.
She watched as her silhouette disappeared beneath his–her fingertips still stained with his blood.
The room was completely still.
So quiet she could hear her own heartbeat pounding in her ears.
She drew a long breath. Then another.
She had to stay focused.
She swore to herself that when she got home, she was going to look up as many “shirtless man” images as it took to desensitize herself.
Next time, she wouldn’t get distracted like this.
You are a professional , she reminded herself. Be a damn doctor .
Bolstered by sheer willpower, she looked up-
And fell straight into Jasper’s eyes.
Gone was the cold, steely glint. What stared back at her now was a storm, dark and unguarded.
He was like a predator with his claws retracted–more dangerous for how gentle he looked. And she was trapped inside that suffocating, charged atmosphere with him.
She turned her face away, voice barely audible. “Let me apply the medicine.”
Jasper nodded. “Okay.”
His voice was low, rich, like gravel dipped in honey.
But his eyes never left her.
Her cheeks burned red again.
Still, her hands stayed steady as she prepared the medicine. Her expression didn’t waver , as it eating any other patient.
For years, people had feared him, resented him, or kept their distance.
But now-
11:51 Sat 16 Aug
230 A Pulse Beneath the Ice
As the salve touched his back, it seared into his exposed flesh. The peeled– back skin flared hot , nerver we with pain.
Whatever tension had built between them vanished in an instant.
Jasper let out a sharp grunt.
“Mr. Fletcher! Are you alright?
Did I press too hard?”
Scarlett winced. Her choice of words echoed back a second too late.
God … seriously ?
She wanted to dig a hole, bury herself, and seal it with concrete.
The air in the room turned several degrees hotter.
Her face burned.
“I’ll be more gentle. Just bear with it, okay?”
A
She spoke quickly, trying to change the subject before he had the chance to say something–anything – that might push her further off balance.
The ointment spread coolly across the wound, but the fire underneath his skin refused to be soothed.
Jasper watched her fumble to pack up the medical kit, her hands in a barely controlled flurry.
Oddly, the pain in his back no longer seemed to matter.
“By the way, Mr. Fletcher…”
Scarlett turned–and froze.
He was buttoning his shirt.
Slow, meticulous, all the way up to the last button.
The crisp white fabric hugged his form, immaculate and restrained, casting an icy gleam over him.
Under that cold, polished aura…
-She felt like she was standing on a snow–covered mountain.
“Um…”
She shook her head, trying to snap herself out of it.
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